FINANCIALLY FRIENDLY FAT
Fat extraction at home
© the artist
Photo: Noémie Soula
Financially Friendly Fat is the first speculative design research project developed during my first year of MA Material Futures. It reflects my deep interest in bioethics, medical and biological research and storytelling that is now the core of my practice.
In 2035, the obesity gets at its apogee. More than 30% of the world population is obese and more than 70% of them are in developed countries.
How is it possible to regulate this increase and understand better the metabolic diseases that come with it?
However, in this not-so-far period of time, concepts such as donation and sharing became meaningless for this next world’s generation. Everything needs to be sold or bought with money: even human tissues, organs or blood. The shortage of human tissues has forced this new period to bloom.
How could laboratories get human tissues, notably adipose tissue (fat) in order to carry on research and potential develop a sustainable treatment when there is a lack of human resources?
That is why a laboratory compagny, named L.A.O (Lab.Against.Obesity), has invented a new, quick and easier way to get fat from people, whatever their BMI. The «financially friendly fat» kit, allows people to remove fat at home to sell it to L.A.O. Then, L.A.O can distribute the collected fat to other laboratories which may need it in order to develop efficient obesity treatment, drugs and medical solutions. This kit enables people to get money from the partcipation. This monetary reward contribute to get people deeper and better involve in the research. Or is it just about money?
Photographs of the kit and research table presentation © the artist.
Photo: Noémie Soula
Instruction video © the artist.
Video: Noémie Soula
Collaborator:
Dr Alex McKeown, at the time Postdoctoral Fellow at Neuroscience, Ethics & Society team (NEUROSEC), now Head of Data Ethics for consultancy firm Information Governance Services.
